Article of furniture

ABSTRACT

An article of furniture in the nature of a bench in which the horizontal weight-supporting portion is mounted upon single spaced legs and weight imposed upon the horizontal load-bearing member is distributed between the legs and spaced upright members which bear against the ceiling above the article of furniture.

111111001 Mates Patent Ugui 1 More 11% 11972 [54] ARTINUILIE "UHFFURNHURE 3,028,606 4/1962 Boutet ..5/10 R X [72] inventor: WilliamMalldomdo 03m, 26 Madison 3,302,799 2/l967 Blodee ..211/86 Sim, NewFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [221 1969 222,248 10/1924 Great Britain..108/149 [21] Appl. No; M171 1 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg 52111s. c1. ..5/110 111, 108/149, 248/340 Kmnma [51] lint. Cl. 1 ..A417c17/411, A47b 5/00 58 lFieIid 01 Search ..5/s,9, 10; 108/42,48, 106, [571ABSTRACT 108/107 152;211/86i248/3231 340; An article of furniture in thenature of a bench in which the 52/39 1261 484 horizontalweight-supporting portion is mounted upon single spaced legs and weightimposed upon the horizontal load- [56] References (med bearing member isdistributed between the legs and spaced UNTED STATES PATENTS uprightmembers which bear against the ceiling above the article of furniture.3,316,863 5/1967 Zock ..108/152 1,385,900 7/1921 Braun ..5/9 R 4 Claims,41 Drawing Figures ARTICLE OIF FURNITURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Itis well known to provide display stands, shelves, and article supportsby means of uprights fastened between the floor and ceiling of abuilding. These devices depend upon the firm pressure between the topand bottom of said uprights to support the displays. Chairs and seatshaving four leg members and upstanding backs are also well known, whichbacks, however, perform no load bearing function and are merelyornamental.

In the present invention, articles of furniture in the nature ofbenches, seats, beds, and the like are disclosed in which only two legsand two upright ceiling bearing members are employed to support theweight of the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a bench,seat, bed or the like, in which two widely spaced leg members disposedtoward the rear of a horizontal weight-supporting member are combinedwith a pair of spaced upright members which are secured at their lowerends to the horizontal weight-supporting members and bear against theceiling at their upper ends. These members are employed as the solesupports for persons who may sit upon the horizontal weight-bearingmember.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the accompanying drawing, forming a parthereof similar parts have been given identical reference numbers inwhich drawing,

FIG. I is a view in side elevation, partly cut away, of a completeembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in vertical section of the height adjusting membershown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2 looking inthe direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a view in front elevation of a complete embodiment of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing andparticularly to FIG. 1, l indicates a weight-bearing member made ofplywood, steel, chipboard or any other substantially rigid material.Transverse supports II reinforce the weight bearing member and aresecured to the underside thereof.

Spaced leg members 12 are secured to the transverse members II at eachend of the seat as shown in FIG. 4.

The legs I2 are located at a distance from the front end 13 of the seatequal to four or five times the distance from the legs to the rear ofthe seat as indicated in FIG. I. It will be observed that the momentsabout the top of the leg 12, by reason of the leverage brought about bythe spacing of the leg from the front of the seat, are greater in aclockwise direction than in a counter clockwise direction. However, theforces acting in the clockwise direction are counteracted by an uprightsup port bar 14, which is secured at its lower end 15 to the rear of theweight bearing seat 10. At its upper end, the support bar I4 bearsagainst the ceiling I6 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. It is to beunderstood, that the ceiling I6 is of a construction which willwithstand the forces imposed upon it by the bar I4 when weight isapplied to the seat member It).

A height-adjusting screw assembly I7 is disposed between the rear of theweight bearing member III and the upright support bar I4 as shown inFIGS. I and 2. The height-adjusting screw assembly consists of aninternally threaded block I8, which is carried beneath a bore I9 in theweight-bearing member It). The block Id receives a square flangedthreaded tubular cap 211, which in turn receives an elongated hollowsquare housing over the top thereof as indicated in FIG. 2.

The upright support bar I4 is freely received within a cup 22 carriedupon a nut 23 which in turn is threadably received upon an elongatedscrew 24. A flanged portion 25 is carried by the screw 24 at the lowerend of said screw The flanged portion is freely received within a recess26 in the top ll of the cap 2I. As shown in FIG. 2, the cap 21 of theblock I4 may comprise a metal fitting having a central bore and athreaded portion 27 around said central bore for engagement with theinternal thread of the block 18. The lower end of the screw 24 extendsthrough the block I8 and is also threaded to receive a locking nut 28.The lower portion of the screw 24 extends beyond the bottom of the blockI8 and a screwdriver slot 29 is provided therein for adjustmentpurposes.

Spaced guides 30 (best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) located on either side ofthe cup 22 complete the construction of the present invention. Theguides 30 prevent the nut 23 from rotating as the screw 24 is adjusted.

In FIG. 4 there is shown an embodiment of the present invention in theform of a combined bench. and day bed. For this purpose cushions 3I areplaced upon the weight-bearing portion I0 and upholstered back members32 are secured to the upright support bars 14.

In order to install the article of furniture, the legs 12 are positionedat the proper location in the room. The locking nut 28 is loosened andthe elongated screw rotated by means of the screwdriver slot 29 untilthe top of the support bar 14 bears firmly against the ceiling 16. Thenut 28 may then be tightened to a locking position and the article offurniture is ready for use.

In order to move the article of furniture about, the elon gated screw 24may be loosened and the weight supporting member 10 lifted slightly atthe front thereof. The entire assembly may then be tilted and in thisposition moved around the room. However, it has been found that once theupright member I4 is carefully adjusted, there is enough play to pcrmitthe article of furniture to be moved merely by lifting the front of thesupport member without need for loosening the screw 24.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there has been provided a highlysimplified article of furniture in the nature of a bench, day bed or thelike, which can be installed quickly and which will occupy a minimumamount of floor space. The floor under the article of furniture can becleaned easily since there are very few legs to obstruct the cleaningapparatus. Dif ferences in ceiling heights can be readily adjustedthrough the use of a screwdriver and without any particular skill.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new anddesired to be secured by Letters Patents of the United States, is:

I. An article of furniture for engagement between a floor and a ceilingcomprising a horizontally disposed elongated planar weight-bearingmember having a front edge and side portions, spaced leg members securedto the bottom of the weight-bearing member adjacent each; end thereofand in wardly of the rear edge of the weight bearing member, spacedsupport bars secured to the top of the weight-bearing members adjacentthe rear edge thereof and extending upwardly to bear against a ceilingand height-adjusting means for the said support bar comprising anelongated hollow square housing secured at one end to the weight-bearingmember, an elongated screw carried within the housing and extendingthrough the weight-bearing member, a nut threadably received upon thescrew above the weight-bearing member, and a cup secured to the nut,slidable within the housing and adapted to receive the lower end of asupport bar therein.

2. An article of furniture according to claim I in which the distance ofthe legs from the front edge of the weight-bearing member is betweenfour and five times the distance of the legs from the rear edge of theweight-bearing member.

3. An article of furniture according to claim I in which the elongatedscrew is provided with a flanged portion and the housing is received bya cap having an elongated externally threaded hollow portion thereon,and a flange-receiving recess in the top thereof, the lower portion ofthe screw ex tending through the elongated hollow portion of the cap.

4. An article of furniture according to claim 1 in which the cup isprevented from rotation by spaced guide members carried within thehousing.

1. An article of furniture for engagement between a floor and a ceilingcomprising a horizontally disposed elongated planar weight-bearingmember having a front edge and side portions, spaced leg members securedto the bottom of the weight-bearing member adjacent each end thereof andinwardly of the rear edge of the weight bearing member, spaced supportbars secured to the top of the weight-bearing members adjacent the rearedge thereof and extending upwardly to bear against a ceiling andheight-adjusting means for the said support bar comprising an elongatedhollow square housing secured at one end to the weight-bearing member,an elongated screw carried within the housing and extending through theweight-bearing member, a nut threadably received upon the screw abovethe weight-bearing member, and a cup secured to the nut, slidable withinthe housing and adapted to receive the lower end of a support bartherein.
 2. An article of furniture according to claim 1 in which thedistance of the legs from the front edge of the weight-bearing member isbetween four and five times the distance of the legs from the rear edgeof the weight-bearing member.
 3. An article of furniture according toclaim 1 in which the elongated screw is provided with a flanged portionand the housing is received by a cap having an elongated externallythreaded hollow portion thereon, and a flange-receiving recess in thetop thereof, the lower portion of the screw extending through theelongated hollow portion of the cap.
 4. An article of furnitureaccording to claim 1 in which the cup is prevented from rotation byspaced guide members carried within the housing.